Rise of the Undead Box Set | Books 1-3 | Apocalypse Z

to you?” Kyle blurted after eating his third bar in a row.
“What do you mean?” Dylan asked.
“You’re covered in bandages,” he pointed out. “Plus, your cheek is bruised.”
“Don’t be rude, Kyle,” Maddie admonished.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind,” Dylan said before smiling at Kyle. “I had a run-in with a zombie earlier and got hurt.”
Kyle stopped chewing and stared at her with wide eyes. “You fought a zombie? For real?”
Maddie gasped and pulled away from Dylan, pressing her back against the passenger side door. “A zombie?”
Dylan’s smile faded. “Relax. I killed it.”
Maddie didn’t relax. Instead, she looked at Dylan like she’d suddenly turned into a cockroach. “Did you get bitten? Are you infected?”
Dylan stared at Maddie for a second before realizing she’d said too much. Judging by the woman’s reaction, she wouldn’t take kindly to Dylan being sick with the virus. Not even if she was still on day one. Suddenly, she was very glad her jacket hid the bandage and black veins on her arm. “No. I’m not infected. I got hurt trying to get away from him.”
“Are you sure?” Maddie asked with narrowed eyes, her voice thick with suspicion.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Dylan said, pointing at her head and hand. “I got this while falling down the stairs, and this while stabbing the zombie with a piece of pottery. The bruises come from the stairs too. I took quite a tumble.”
“How can I trust you?”
“I guess you can’t,” Dylan replied, fighting to remain calm. “But this is my car, and you’re welcome to walk the rest of the way if you wish.”
“I…” Maddie’s mouth worked, searching for words.
Kyle chipped in, a worried frown marring his forehead. “Mom, she’s fine. Look at her. She’s not turning into a zombie. I’ve heard it takes days anyway.”
“Listen to your son,” Dylan advised. “It’s a long way to Vandalia on foot. But by car, you’ll be there within an hour. Safe and sound.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Maddie said after a tense few seconds. With slow movements, she slid back into her seat, though her stiff shoulders betrayed her mistrust.
Dylan sighed, already regretting her kindness of earlier. This is going to be the longest drive of my life.

Chapter 11 - Dylan
They drove in silence until they hit Millersville. As they neared the town, Dylan spotted a cloud of smoke hanging above it. Worried about what they might find, she slowed the car to a crawl.
Maddie tensed up again, a deep furrow forming between her brows. She gripped the dashboard and asked, “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know — something’s burning. Keep your eyes open,” Dylan said. “You too, Kyle.”
The boy nodded and gazed out the window with serious intent as they cruised between the buildings while sticking to the main road. It was mostly deserted except for a few cars parked along the side, and it looked almost normal. They’d nearly passed through the town when Kyle spotted the origin of the fire. “Over there!”
Dylan edged closer, slowing down even further as her eyes met a strange sight. People armed with all sorts of weapons ranging from guns, pitchforks, sharpened sticks, and shovels were gathered in a small park. The park fronted a large square building made from exposed brick. Its windows and doors were barricaded from the outside and written across the front in dripping white paint were the words: The Infected are Damned.
Flames licked across the walls, and smoke billowed from the shattered windows. The heat was intense, so strong that Dylan could feel it against her skin all the way across the park.
“What are they doing?” Kyle asked.
“I’m not sure,” Dylan said, but a suspicion was forming. The fire, the message, the crowd…it all pointed to one thing.
“They’re burning the zombies,” Maddie answered, leaning forward in her seat.
“Zombies?” Kyle asked.
Dylan didn’t answer. She watched as the fire consumed the building, filled no doubt with the undead. Then a strange noise reached Dylan’s ears through the crack in her window, the sound of multiple voices screaming for help. She jerked upright in her seat, listening harder. “Wait a minute. Those aren’t zombies.”
Maddie glanced at her. “What do you mean?”
Dylan’s stomach churned as the horrifying truth sank in. “They’re killing infected people. Not zombies.”
Maddie’s expression didn’t change. “What’s the difference?”
“The difference is, those people are still alive. They haven’t died yet,” Dylan said.
“They’re burning people alive?” Kyle cried out. “Just because they’re sick?”
“I’m afraid so,” Dylan said, staring at the awful sight.
Between the planks nailed across the windows, she spotted a few faces, barely visible through the smoke and flames. Hands scrabbled at the wood with frantic desperation as those that burned inside sought to escape an agonizing death. Her stomach churned as she imagined the horror, the terror, and the pain those poor unfortunates were experiencing.
The people outside felt no mercy. That much was clear. Instead, they cheered at the deaths of what must once have been their neighbors, maybe even friends and family. They were getting rid of what they perceived to be the enemy, an evil in their midst, and in the process, they were becoming that same evil.
Suddenly, the crowd rippled and parted down the middle to reveal a struggling duo. An older woman was dragging a young girl to the front. The girl pleaded with the woman, and tears streamed down her cheeks to drip onto her torn and bloody shirt. “Please, Aunt Lily. Please.”
The woman ignored her niece’s efforts and addressed the gathered townspeople in a loud voice. “I present to you this thing…this zombie for cleansing.”
“No, Aunt Lily! I’m not a zombie. I’m not. I swear,” the girl cried, trying to pull free from her aunt’s iron grip.
“My niece is gone. She died when the infection entered her bloodstream. You’re nothing but an infection in our midst. A living canker that will sow death and destruction on us all. Unless we stop you now.”
“No, Aunt Lily. Please, I beg of you,” the girl cried as two people grabbed her arms and dragged her toward a smoking pyre